Ford Ranger Engine Oil - What Type & How to Change

The recommended Ford Ranger engine oil depends on the engine fitted to your particular example. Since the popular PX Ranger (2011 to 2022) used four different engines over its time on sale, this is an important piece of the puzzle. So here’s how it pans out:

The Best Ford Ranger oil type for the 2.2-litre turbo-diesel engine is a 5W30 fully synthetic. The 3.2-litre turbo-diesel also uses the same grade and specification of oil. The sophisticated two-litre twin-turbo diesel requires 0W30 fully synthetic oil which is quite a light oil but is designed to lubricate those turbochargers immediately on start-up. Meantime, the 2.5-litre petrol engine (which is quite rare to find and only sold for a few years) requires either a 5W20 or a 0W20 (depending on which oil manufacturer you ask).

In the Ranger’s case, changing the oil at home is not difficult provided you’re not dealing with the five-cylinder 3.2-litre turbo-diesel. We’ll get to that one in a moment. In the case of the other engines, it becomes a case of warming the engine, removing the drain plug and letting the old oil out. While it’s draining, fit the replacement oil filter, replace the drain plug and refill the engine with the fresh oil. Once you’ve checked the level and it’s good, you’re on your way again.

The exception to all this is the 3.2-litre engine which has a sophisticated oil pump that allows it to save a bit of fuel, but also imposes a ten-minute limit on how long you can leave the sump-plug out and the engine empty of oil. Because of the way the pump is designed, an empty sump will cause the pump to not prime itself when you refill the oil and start the engine. And that can destroy the engine. So, the oil filter needs to be changed separately and the oil drained and refilled inside that ten-minute window. Simply google `how to change oil on a Ford Ranger’ and you might not be given this vital piece of info. Beyond that, the job is still a DIY one, but you have to be aware of that time limit.

Oil changes are part of any vehicle’s regular maintenance and the specifications of the oil required and the service interval (how often to change oil) are set by the vehicle’s manufacturer. If this job isn’t for you, pretty much any mechanic at any service centre of any size will be able to handle it quickly and efficiently as well as dispose of the old oil and filter for you.